The UNI men’s basketball team traveled to Evansville on Sunday to take on the Purple Aces.

The Panther offense got off to a fast start with a 3-point basket by Trey Campbell to make it 3-0 early. The Purple Aces responded right back with a 3-pointer of their own to tie it back up a three apiece. 

After a layup by Tytan Anderson, the Purple Aces offense went on a 7-0 run to make it 10-5 with just under 17 minutes to go in the half. 

The Panther offense responded with an Anderson dunk to cut the lead to five. Soon after the  Purple Aces offense went on a 6-0 run going four-for-four on free throws during that sequence. The lead was 16-7 Evansville with just under 13 minutes to go in the half. 

Panther forward Jacob Hutson put a stop to the run with a two-point basket to cut the lead to seven. The Purple Aces responded with a three-point basket on their next possession to extend their lead to 19-9. 

The Panthers were climbing back into the game, thanks to two baskets by Anderson and a hook shot by Hutson. The lead was 21-16 Evansville with just under nine minutes to go in the half. 

The two teams continued to trade baskets on offense. Cole Henry made a two-point basket while Anderson drove down the lane for a layup. The Purple Aces remained in the lead 24-20. 

After two baskets on offense by the Purple Aces, Nate Heise responded with a three-pointer. Evansville remained in the lead 28-23.

After a missed free throw by the Purple Aces,Heise hit another three-pointer to cut the lead to three. The Panthers forced a stop on defense, which led to a Bowen Born three-pointer to tie the game at 29-29 with just over three minutes to go in the half. 

Towards the end of the first half, Heise did a great job of getting to the foul line. He was four-for-four on free throws, as he gave the Panthers a 33-30 lead with just under two minutes to go in the half. 

The Purple Aces responded on offense with two layups to regain the lead at 34-33. The Panther offense finished strong to end the half as Hutson and Anderson made layups to give the Panthers a 37-34 lead going into halftime. 

The Purple Aces and Hutson traded layups to start the second half, as the Panthers remained in the lead 39-36. After a Evansville layup, Born responded with a two-point jump shot to keep the Panthers in the lead at 41-38. 

Hutson accounted for the next two baskets making a layup and two free throws. The Panthers remained in the lead 44-43 with just under 17 minutes to go in the game. 

After a Purple Aces jump shot to give them the lead, Henry and Anderson both got to the basket for layups as the Panthers regained the lead 48-45. 

The Purple Aces wouldn’t go away as they regained the lead at 48-47 with a layup. The Panther offense took back control quickly as Heise made a layup followed by a Born three-pointer to give the Panthers a 53-47 lead with just under fourteen minutes to go in the game. 

After an Evansville layup, Anderson found Henry under the basket for an and-one layup to give the Panthers their largest lead of the day 56-49. 

The Purples Aces responded with a 5-0 run of their own, cutting the lead to 56-55. Campbell got the Panther offense back in a groove with a three-point basket to make it 59-55 Panthers. 

After Evansville cut the lead to two, Hutson responded with two layups on back to back possessions to extend the lead to 63-57 Panthers. 

The Purple Aces fired right back, making two free throws and a three-point basket to cut the lead to 63-62. The Panther offense responded as Born hit a three-point shot to extend the Panther lead 66-62 with just under seven minutes to go in the half. 

Heise and the Purple Aces traded 3-point jump shots on back-to-back possessions as the Panthers remained in the lead 69-65. 

After the Purple Aces cut the lead to one, Anderson drove to the rim and made a layup to extend the Panthers lead to three. Eventually, the Purple Aces took the lead 72-71 after back-to-back layups. They followed that up with two made free throws to extend their lead to 74-71 with 2:46 to go in the game. 

With just under two minutes to go in the game, the Purple Aces led 76-73. On the Panthers next offensive possession, Anderson tied the game up at 76-76 with a clutch 3-point basket. 

With 38 seconds to go, the Purple Aces regained the lead at 78-76 with a layup. With seven seconds to go in the game, Anderson came through once again making a layup to tie the game at 78-78 and force overtime. 

The Purple Aces struck first in overtime, making one out of two free throws on a foul shot. On the Panthers next offensive possession, Heise drew a foul and made both of his free throws to give the Panthers a 80-79 lead. 

On their next offensive possession, Evansville drew another foul. They made both of their free throws to regain the lead at 81-80. The Panther offense responded once again as Born made a two-point jump shot to give the Panthers the lead back. 

The Purple Aces regained the lead on their next offensive possession with a layup. Back on offense, Panthers forward Hutson made a two-point basket to give them the lead back at 84-83.